Saving All My Love for You

"Saving All My Love For You"
Single by Whitney Houston
from the album Whitney Houston
B-side	"Nobody Loves Me Like You Do"
Released	August 13, 1985
Format	CD single, cassette single, 7" single
Recorded	1984
Genre	Soul, R&B
Length	3:48
Label	Arista
Writer(s)	Michael Masser, Gerry Goffin
Producer	Michael Masser
Whitney Houston singles chronology
"You Give Good Love" (1985) "Saving All My Love for You" (1985) "How Will I Know" (1985)
Music video "Saving All My Love For You" on YouTube

"Saving All My Love for You" is a song written by Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin with arrangement by Gene Page. It was originally a minor hit for Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. in 1978 on their album Marilyn & Billy (although Davis’ voice was not heard on their version). This article focuses primarily on the cover version by Whitney Houston, the second hit single from her self-titled debut album. The song charting topped Billboard Hot 100, being her first number one in the chart.

Song information

This jazzy ballad is about a love affair with a married man, and the singer is saving all her love for him.

Music video

The music video, directed by Stuart Orme, was filmed in London, and features Houston singing and recording with her married music producer, and falling in love with him along the way.

Reception

Chart performance

Released in 1985, Whitney's version of "Saving All My Love For You" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #53, jumping to #39 the following week (August 24), and reaching the Top 10 five weeks later. The single reached the #1 spot the week of October 26, 1985, and would became the first of seven record-setting consecutive number-one singles in the United States for Houston; a record that still holds. The single eventually spent fifteen weeks in the top forty. The song also became a global hit, hitting #1 or the Top 10 in various countries around the world. It also hit #1 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It ranked #5 on Billboard year-end top black singles chart. In the UK the song hit #1 in December 1985 for two weeks. The single went on to become one of the top 25 best-selling singles of 1985 in the UK.

Accolades

Houston won the 1986 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and the American Music Award for Favorite R&B/Soul Video for "Saving All My Love For You".

Track listings

• US Vinyl / 7" Single
  • A "Saving All My Love For You" — 3:46
  • B "All At Once" — 4:26

• Germany Vinyl 7"

1. "Saving All My Love for You" — 3:57
2. "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" (duet with Jermaine Jackson) — 3:46

• UK Vinyl / 12"
  • A "Saving All My Love For You"
  • B1 "All At Once"
  • B2 "Greatest Love Of All"

• Germany Vinyl / 7"
  • A "Saving All My Love For You" — 3:57
  • B "How Will I Know" — 3:35

Personnel

• Writer — Michael Masser, Gerry Goffin
• Producer — Michael Masser
• Arranger — Gene Page
• Saxophone solo by Tom Scott
• Mixer — Bill Schnee
• Engineers — Michael Mancini, Russell Schmitt

Charts and certifications

Chart positions

Chart (1985)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)	12
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	16
France (SNEP)	11
Germany (Media Control AG)	18
Ireland (IRMA)	1
New Zealand (RIANZ)	5
Norway (VG-lista)	10
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	5
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)	1
US Billboard Hot 100	1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)	1
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1985)	Position
U.S Black Singles	5
U.S Pop Singles	23
Chart (1986)	Position
Swiss Singles Chart	28

Certifications

Country	Provider	Certification
United Kingdom	BPI	Gold
United States	RIAA	Gold

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by "Separate Lives" by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin	Irish Singles Chart number-one single December 21, 1985	Succeeded by "Thank You Very Much Mr Eastwood" by Dermot Morgan
Preceded by "I'm Your Man" by Wham!	U.K Singles Chart number-one single 14 December 1985 - 21 December 1985	Succeeded by "Merry Christmas Everyone" by Shakin' Stevens
Preceded by "Take on Me" by a-ha	U.S Billboard Hot 100 number-one single October 26, 1985	Succeeded by "Part-Time Lover" by Stevie Wonder
Preceded by "Cherish" by Kool & the Gang	U.S Adult Contemporary Singles number-one single October 5, 1985 -October 19, 1985	Succeeded by "Part-Time Lover" by Stevie Wonder
Preceded by "Freeway of Love" by Aretha Franklin	U.S Black Singles number-one single September 7, 1985	Succeeded by "Cherish" by Kool & the Gang

See also

• List of number-one singles of 1985 (Ireland)
• List of number-one singles from the 1980s (UK)
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1985 (U.S.)
• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1985 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B singles of 1985 (U.S.)

In pop culture

• The New York Daily News ranked it #79 in its list of the Greatest Love Songs.
• The song appears on the music video game Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol.
• The song also appears on The Simpsons' fifteenth episode, season seventeen.
• The point-of-view character in the song and video bears a striking similarity to the role Houston played in 1995's Waiting to Exhale.
• This song also appears on Everybody Hates Chris

Other cover versions

• Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy recorded a cover in 1986 on his Avant Pop album, arranged by Stever Turre.
• Jazz saxophonist Hank Crawford covered the song for his 1990 Groove Master album.

• Idina Menzel performed this song various times during her early days as a Long Island Wedding Singer (before her triumph on the Broadway stage) as a "highly requested first dance". She also covered the song in her solo concerts where she reenacts her days as a Wedding Singer.

External links

• Saving All My Love For You at Discogs